¡Ciao!
lunedì, il 25 di marzo
So, I did it. I ‘gamed today’.
No, that is a lie. I attempted to play, which lasted about 3 minutes.
What really happened was I picked up the controller…
…no, that is not true. The controller was handed to me.
Okay, I entered class earlier than normal and the control was handed to me to begin Rise of the Tomb Raider.
I really did want to play, but to be honest, I was so nervous! The last video game I played was Super Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch for an entire summer in 2017; and before that, Super Mario Kart on the PS4 in 2003; and before that I endeavored to pass Level 6 of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis in probably about 1995….Nah, there were a few breaks in between, with random games like Mortal Kombat, Guitar Hero, and my ex tried relentlessly to get me me to play Overcooked on the Switch, and Star Wars: The Card Game – Fantasy Flight Games…to which I forcefully fought back.
So, Lara Croft fell off the snowy and icy ravine about 5 times while Simone was positively supporting by gleefully shouting ‘a destra, salta!’….’Triangolo‘….’Avanti!’
After about nine lives the students started to filter in and I heard a student laughing. I thought maybe he was on the phone, but no, not so much. He had been standing at the door watching me die over and over again. Which is okay. I will get the hang of it. And repetition is great for language learning!!
Actually, repeating the stages over and over again on a video game is pretty great for language learning. I was receiving oral input regarding how to move forward and play the game, such as “destra!”, “quadrato!”, and “velocemente!”. Additionally, there are Italian prompts and subtitles written on the screen, so there is visual input matching the actions, which is extremely helpful. And of course, there is the added pressure of wanting to not be a total idiot in playing in front of a group of more advanced gamers. The background music is also quite intense. As Lara Croft scivolava (slides) over and over again down la montagna ghiacciata 🏔 I grasped desperately at la console trying to mimic what I had been watching i miei compagni di classe do with such ease over these past couple of months. Well, as soon as more students started taking their seat I handed over the control and gladly watched from my seat. I do feel good to have finally broken the ice and now I feel more ready to try again.
mercoledì, il 27 di marzo
Oggi was un girono di tutto! (Today was a day of everything!)
1️⃣ Prima, for our warm up we huddled up into our groups again for a few rounds of Sapere è potere. GrlPwr did quite well again, I must say. 👩🎤
2️⃣ Secondo, we went over the daily plan which includes annunci, and a bit of review in the ‘ripassiamo‘ stage, and practicing new concepts for a few moments of ‘parliamo‘.
Regarding our libro 📕 progress, we are immersed in el tempo, el cibo, as well as parlando about la hora, mastering concepts of reflexive verbs, expressions with avere + noun, and a whole lot more.
👩🏫 insegnare: Simone said something on Monday which just cracked me up, “please don’t suffer from reflexivitus”….”when you learn about reflexive verbs in Italian (or Spanish) for example, and from then on feel the need to make all verbs you encounter reflexive” 🤣 Oh, how true this is. È la verità, for sure. Not only do I witness my students making this error in my Spanish classes, but I know I am guilty of it as well. Not only can ‘reflexivitus’ change the meaning of your sentence, but it can also cause hilarious and or embarrassing situations.
Per essempio, diece anni delle passato, I sat with 4 quattro Spanish donne in a small Moroccan casa di tè in Cádiz, Spain. It was la nostra hora di conversazione, trenta minuti in spagnolo e trenta minuti in inglese. During our Spanish speaking time they asked me what I had done earlier that day and I proceeded to tell them….”trabajé, regresé a casa, me corrí, cambié mi ropa…” and I continued on. Although only for about two seconds perché all of a sudden i loro occhi 👀 got very wide, they laughed quite hard for a few minutes, and then thank goodness proceeded to kindly explain why perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to use correr in the reflexive form (correrse) in such a casual and public setting. Of course, this case is particular to Castellano, but it is a good example to be extra careful when throwing around i verbi riflessivi…..
Ma, torniamo all’italiano!
We reviewed la quantità, il verbo ‘bere’ e le bevande, and possessive articles. We finished up watching an Assassin’s Creed 2 video on YouTube, Simone passed out Worksheet #4, ‘I verbi di azione, le attività, il tempo e la famiglia con Rise of the Tomb Raider’, and all of a sudden class was over and we headed over al laboratorio. The 50 minutes are also so jam packed and end so quickly!
Once in lab we watched a complementary video clip, and went over a few sections on the worksheet together.
We wrapped up the last 20 minutes or so playing Hidden Agenda. I loved it! It was so fun, interactive, we worked together in small groups, and it was actually pretty intense. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Dah dahhh…..
Questo gioco è multigiocatori. I downloaded the app (for free) on my iPhone and our team Subze (I typed in Sub Zero as the team name, but it got cut off #fail), played along with the other teams collaboratively making decisions, while the action was being presented on the big screen. There were options to compete against each other or work collaboratively as a one large team. The situations presented were very similar to those old school books, “choose your own adventure”. Of course the primary language was set to Italian and we were following along based on our novice and intermediate levels of Italian. Although, I found that we could also easily draw upon the context to understand more of the situation, quickly allowing us to move forward in our decision making and progression to the next situation.
The room was dark, the music was loud and intense, and we were choosing whether we should save the ostaggio (hostage) or our police partner….good times in Morrissey 3800.
venerdì, il 29 di marzo
Oggi we…
…took Quiz numero tre 3.
…reviewed gli aggettivi possessivi practicing with la famiglia.
– la mia famiglia, la mamma, il papá, i fratelli, i nonni...etc.
…studiamo i pronomi possessivi.
– il mio appartamento ha molta luce….la mia migliore amica è americana.
On the near horizon is the creation and completion of our progetto finale. Il lunedì prossimo we will meet with our groups and decide on a format and topic. Our team is comprised of a unique and eclectic group of folks, which will bring a diverse set of skills and ideas to the table. I am very much looking forward to our brainstorming session on Monday!
¡Ciao!
Jonesy's Journey 